Beam clip with teeth

ABSTRACT

A saddle connector, having an inverted channel, engages a bulb of a beam in the grid of a suspended ceiling. The channel has hardened teeth staggered along the opposing walls of the channel. The teeth are forced into the bulb of the beam, one at a time, by the full force exerted by hand operated pliers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention generally relates to suspended ceilings that hang fromstructural ceilings, and more particularly, to connectors for the metalbeams that form the grids in such suspended ceilings.

2. Prior Art

The beams in the grids of suspended ceilings are formed from a flat,continuous strip of sheet metal that passes through successive rolls.The rolls bend the strip into a cross section having a bulb at the top,a web depending downward from the bulb, and horizontal flanges, at thebottom, on opposite sides, of the web.

The beams are formed into a grid that can support panels in rectangulargrid openings, or drywall sheets attached to the grid from below byself-tapping screws.

The beams in the grid are attached on each side of the grid to a moldingon a side wall, generally by screws, but sometimes by a connector in theform of a saddle that is secured to the molding and beams byself-tapping screws. Such a saddle connector has an inverted channelthat straddles the bulb of a beam, and is set in place from above thebeam.

Such a saddle-type channel connector having on each side of the channelteeth that dig into the structural elements they straddle, have beenused on wooden beams. On metal beams, the teeth of the connectorgenerally bend and fail to penetrate the metal of the beam when force isapplied, as by hand pliers, when the connector is being applied to thebeam. Hence, such connectors have not been accepted in the suspendedceiling field where metal beams are used in the grids.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention utilizes a saddle connector, with teeth extendingfrom sides of the channel, that bite into the bulb of a metal beam toconnect the beam to a wall molding, or to another metal beam, in aceiling grid. The saddle connector straddles the bulb in a beam, and theteeth bite into the bulb of the beam when force is applied to the teeth,with hand pliers, to force the teeth, one at a time, into the bulb.

The saddle connector is made of hardened steel, with sharp, pointedteeth stamped out of the sides of the saddle. The teeth are positionedin the connector so they can be pinched into the metal bulb of the beamwith ordinary hand operated pliers, such as “tongue and groove” pliers,one at a time. One jaw of the pliers can abut against the connector onthe opposite side of the channel from the tooth being inserted, withoutinterference from any teeth not yet inserted, and pinch one oppositehardened sharp tooth on the other side of the connector channel, intothe bulb of the beam.

In this manner, the full force being applied by the installer, with themechanical advantage created by the pliers, can be concentrated on onetooth at a time, to overcome the substantial resistance to penetrationoffered by the beam. The hardened tooth in turn, does not bend, so thetooth is forced into the beam.

The connector of the invention can be applied quickly and permanently toprovide a firm connection. In seismic prone areas, self-tapping screwscan be inserted through the clip into the beam to provide addedstrength.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art saddle connector attached toa beam by screws.

FIGS. 2 through 5 show a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a saddle connector of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the saddle connector of FIG. 2 securedto the end of a beam in a grid, and hooked onto a wall molding.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the teeth of the saddleconnector embedded in the bulb of a beam in the grid.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 3.

FIGS. 7 through 10 show a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a T-shaped saddle connector of theinvention.

FIG. 8 shows the saddle connector of FIG. 7 securing a cross beam to amain beam, with the teeth pressed into both beams.

FIG. 9 is a view taken on the line 9-9 of FIG. 8, before the teeth arepressed into the beam.

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9, after the teeth have been pressedinto the beam.

FIG. 11 shows the saddle connector of FIG. 7 used to connect opposingcross beams to a main beam.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken on the line 12-12 in FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Suspended ceilings, as seen, for instance, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,523,313and 6,138,416, incorporated herein by reference, have a grid ofinterconnected beams. The grid supports panels on flanges of the beams,in grid openings, in panel ceilings. In drywall ceilings, sheets ofwallboard are secured to the bottom of the flanges of the beams in thegrid, by self-tapping screws. The grid is suspended from a structuralceiling by hang wires.

The present invention deals primarily with saddle connectors that securethe beams of the grid to wall molding that surrounds the grid, or toconnect beams in the grid to each other.

The Prior Art

In the prior art, as seen in FIG. 1, an angle wall molding 20 is securedto side wall 21, and wall stud 22, by screws 23. A beam 25, rollformedfrom a continuous web of sheet metal, has a bulb 26, a web 27 dependingdownward from the bulb 26, and horizontal flanges 28 extendingoppositely from the web 27 at the bottom. Stitches 29 secure layers ofthe web 27 of the beam 25 together.

The beam 25, which forms part of the grid referred to above, rests, atits end, on the horizontal ledge 31 of the wall molding 20. A prior artsaddle connector 32 secures the end of beam 25 to the vertical leg 33 ofwall molding 20, to keep the beam 25 in place on the molding 20. Aninverted channel 35 straddles the bulb 26. The channel 35 flares out atone end 36 to form a downwardly extending flat portion 37 that hooksover the vertical leg 33 of wall molding 20. A self-tapping screw 38secures the prior art saddle connector 32 to bulb 26.

The Invention

The saddle connector 40 of the invention uses hardened, staggered teeth41, instead of screws 23, to bite into the bulb 26 of beam 25 to securethe inverted channel 42 to the bulb 26 of the beam 25.

The teeth 41 are punched out of the opposing side walls 43 and 44 of theinverted channel 42 of saddle connector 40, and have a pivot leg 45, anda pointed segment 46.

The backpiece 47, as seen in FIG. 2, is bent downwardly from a bridgepiece 48 that extends from inverted channel 42. The backpiece 47 haspunched from it a lip 49 that is hooked between side wall 21 and thevertical leg 33 of the wall molding 20, as seen, for instance, in thecross sectional view in FIG. 6.

As seen particularly in FIG. 4, the teeth 41 of the invention, arepositioned initially outwardly from both opposing side walls 43 and 44of the inverted channel 42, and are staggered relative to the tooth orteeth on the opposing wall. This permits pliers 50, shown in phantom inFIG. 3, to be applied in a manner wherein one jaw 51 of pliers 50 canseat on a channel side wall 44 at location 52, while the other jaw 53 ofthe pliers 50 can be applied to the pivot leg 45 of the tooth 41 on theopposing channel side wall 43 at location 54 as seen in FIG. 4. Thispermits the full leverage of the pliers 50 to be applied to one tooth 41at a time, whereby the pointed segment 46 of a hardened tooth 41penetrates the softer metal of the bulb 26 of the beam 25.

The saddle connector 40 of the invention can take other forms. In FIGS.7, 8 and 9, there is shown the connector 60 of the invention used toconnect a single cross beam 70 to a main beam 65. As seen, in the formshown in FIGS. 7, 8, and 9, connector 60 has in-line channels 61 and 62,and perpendicularly-extending channel 63. Channels 61 and 62 extend overbulb 64 of main beam 65, having web 66, flanges 67, and stitches 68.

Cutouts 69 in channels 61, 62, and 63 permit connector to engage mainbeam 65 and cross beam 70 as shown particularly in FIG. 8. Teeth 71 arestaggered longitudinally along channels 60, 61, and 62, so that theteeth do not oppose each other, whereby one jaw 71 of pliers 72 can seatat location 73 on the channel, while the other jaw 75 of pliers 72 canbe applied to tooth 74.

In FIGS. 11 and 12, there is shown the connector 60 of FIG. 7 used toconnect opposing cross beams 80 and 81 to main beam 82. Channel 63extends over main beam 65, while channels 61 and 62 extend over crossbeams 80 and 81. As described above, a tooth 74 of hardened metal isforced into the bulb 26 of a beam 25, one at a time, whereby the fullforce of the hand pliers 72 is used most effectively on the tooth 74.

In the above manner, the teeth 41 are pierced into the bulb 26 of a beam25 in the various embodiments disclosed above, resulting in a secureconnection between and among beams in a suspended ceiling.

What is claimed is:
 1. In a saddle connector that is secured to a steelbeam in the grid of a suspended ceiling, wherein the beam has a bulbextending along the top of the beam, (a) an inverted channel thatstraddles the bulb of the beam, and (b) teeth extending from opposingwalls of the inverted channel, intended to be forced into the bulb, toform a connection; the improvement comprising (c) a connector with teethformed of hardened metal capable of being forced , without bending, intothe bulb of the beam to which it is attached, and with (d) a tooth inone wall of the channel in a staggered position from a tooth in anopposing wall of the channel, so that a space opposite a tooth in anopposing wall is clear, whereby manually operated hand pliers arecapable of applying sufficient force to one tooth at a time to piercethe bulb with the tooth, and force the tooth into the bulb.
 2. Theimprovement of claim 1, wherein the connector secures a beam in the gridto a wall molding.
 3. The improvement of claim 1, wherein the connectorsecures a beam in the grid to another beam.
 4. The improvement of claim3 wherein the connector secures a cross beam to a main beam.
 5. Theconnector of claim 4 wherein a connector secures opposing cross beams toa main beam.